Eating healthy can be simple as changing the size of your plate. A new series of studies finds that simple environmental changes to portion size can increase healthy eating habits.

"Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat, and then ask ourselves if we're full. The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you," said Researcher Brian Wansink Ph.D., who presented the findings at the American Psychological Association's annual convention.

The (CDC) Centers for Disease and Prevention Control reports that obesity has become an epidemic. In the United States about 33.8 percent of men and women are obese. Approximately, 12.5 million or 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.

"People don't think that something as simple as the size of a bowl would influence how much an informed person eats," said Wansink.

In one study, researchers gave 168 individuals fresh and stale popcorn from different bucket sizes.

Wansink found that people ate more when the popcorn was placed in larger bucket sizes.

Study participants ate 45% more fresh popcorn and 34% more stale popcorn from an extra-large bucket than a large size bucket, results showed.

In another study, participants were asked to pour liquid into different size glasses. People poured 37% more liquid in short wide glasses than tall skinny ones of the same volume.

Another study showed that Americans do not know that they are full or when to stop before they over eat.

People with bottomless bowl of soup ate 73% more than those with normal 22-ounce bowls. When asked about how much they consumed, participants didn't realize they had eaten more.

"Lesson is, don't rely on your stomach to tell you when you're full. It can lie," said Wansink. "Simply being aware of such findings can help people make healthier choices."

Another study showed that people lost up to 2 pounds per month after making simple changes in their environment. Such as eating from a smaller salad plate than a larger dinner plate, keeping healthy food at eye level, while keeping unhealthy foods away from reach and eating in the kitchen or dining room rather than in front of a T.V or computer screen.